Tritons honored on hardwood

March 13, 2013

A pair of Iowa Central freshmen were named to the Region XI women's basketball first team, as Katie Dentlinger and Babaye Oja earned top honors.

Lydia Harvey and Miliakere Koyamainavure were each selected to the second team for the Tritons, who captured the league tournament title over the weekend and a second consecutive berth in the NJCAA Tournament.

Theresa Doyle, a graduate of St. Edmond like Harvey, made the third squad.

Dentlinger led the Tritons in scoring at 11.7 per game, connecting on 48-percent of her sots from the field. She also grabbed eight rebounds a game to lead the way.

Oja averaged 9.5 points and five boards, while Harvey posted 7.8 and 5.4.

Koyamainavure added 9.9 points and 5.9 rebounds per contest.

Doyle added six points and three-plus assists for the Tritons.

Iowa Central went 24-8 on the year and defeated seventh-ranked (Div. II) Kirkwood in the tournament finals. They will play Monroe (22-7) on Tuesday, March 17 at 3 p.m. in the first round of the national tourney.

On the men's side, sophomores David Andersen and Rhys Elliot helped lead the Iowa Central men to a berth in the NJCAA tournament a year ago, and a spot in the Region XI tournament semifinals over the weekend.

For their efforts, both were named to the second team by the league. Freshman Jesse Jones also garnered all-conference second team status.

Elliot added 16.1 points a night, best on the team, and shot 39-percent from three-point range. Andersen posted 10.4 points and 5.6 rebounds a game, shooting over 52-percent from the field.

Jones chipped in 11.6 points, five rebounds, two steals and 4.4 assists.